Promises to keep
by Alena S. Anigor
Summary: A kinda waffy oneshot involving /Rio x Phil/ If you don't like the pairing, don't read it. Reviews are welcome.


AN: This is a Rio/Phil fic. If you don't like the pairing, don't read it then. 

For everyone else-I hope you'll like it.

**Promises to keep**

Four Goddesses were standing proudly in their positions, ready for the attack of the Victim. The fifth was, however, still being repaired by it's repairer.

Shin Agui Keamia was standing in her section, separated from other Goddesses, trying to hold her proud position, although she was far away from looking graceful.

Phil Phleira Deed wiped her forehead with her sleeve, holding a tool in her hands. A loud, exasperated sigh was heard from the young repairer, as she shook her head, and reminded herself that the work wasn't done yet.

She was standing in front of Goddess' chest, navigating the repairers repairing vehicle to the left side to start repairing her arm, which looked bad enough by only looking at it.

"I can't believe it," she muttered, "I told him not to go that close, but nooo...don't listen to Phil, what does she know?"

Phil positioned herself in front of the Goddess' arm, and picked up her toolbox to take the necessary tool. Her face was a mixture of anger, anxiety and fear. She shook her head again. Rio ended up in the Infirmary with a badly injured arm and several cuts on his face and torso. 

"How could he be so...so...irresponsible?" She almost barked; her anger fueled again. The images of the last battle returned to her mind, and Phil stopped for a second to clear her thoughts. Shaking her head, and wiping her eyes, where tears gathered to fall down, she returned to her work, deciding not to cry, and to be strong.

That didn't last long though, and Phil had to stop with her repairing, because the image in front of her was becoming blurry. 

"Damn." She whispered, wiping her eyes with her hand, sniffling a couple of times. She took a deep breath, and let the tool fall to the ground of the repairing vehicle. It clanged a bit, breaking the almost dead silence in the hangar.

She raised her head to observe the Goddess, and her eyes traveled around the arm she was trying to repair. 'So much work to do', she thought, 'and so little time.' She smiled bitterly, hearing that phrase somewhere before.

Slowly, she sunk to the ground, too, and leaned to the back of the vehicle, her own back meeting the cold metal. She swung her arms around herself, and lowering her head, kept eyeing the Ingrid in front of her.

She was staring at it a couple of minutes, until she let out a tired sigh, which wavered a bit, caused by her attempts to calm down.

"Idiot." She mumbled, closing her eyes, and lowering her head to her hands. Brownish bangs fell forward, hiding her face and eyes.

"Stupid idiot." She muttered again, and she started trembling slightly. 

"Why doesn't he listen? Jerk!" She yelled, and someone could have mistaken her for being angry, but her whimpers and silent weeping betrayed her. She was sitting there, completely motionless, an occasional sniffle being the only sign that she was still alive.

A couple of moments passed then in silence, until she shifted her hands to hug her knees, burying her head to her chest.

"Why do I have to care so much for him?"

***

Rioroute Vilgyna grimaced, and cursed silently under his breath. The pain was still there, and although he asked for something to make it go away, no one granted him his wish.

"Damn doctors," he mumbled, "Aren't you supposed to help us, huh?" he yelled to no one in particular, since he was left there all alone.

He made an attempt to rise from the bed, but he dismissed that thought, when the pain decided not to let him do that.

"Aw, damn!" he cursed, and closed his eyes, falling back to the bed with a loud 'thump'.

"Now, now, there's no need to do that." A female voice came from the direction of the door, and Rio opened one eye, almost glaring at the Madonna in white.

"Gee doc, I thought you're going to help me." He managed to choke trough gritted teeth.

Dr. Rill smiled slightly, and turning around to the table, reached for something. Rio watched her doing something, wondering what was she up to now.

When dr. Rill finally turned around, holding something in her right hand, all the remaining blood vanished from Rio's face.

Dr. Rill smiled almost sardonically, looking at him, amused, and approaching him slowly.

"No, no, no, no, no, please don't! I'll be quiet! I won't make a sound! NOO!"

Rill chuckled in amusement, holding a needle in her hand, and trying to look as dangerous as possible. 

Rio was trying to escape, and gripping the edges of the bed, started to trash so wildly, that she had to call for some help. Soon, the two nurses came to the room, and held him down, while dr. Rill injected the medicine in peace.

After a while, his eyelids became heavy, and soon, Rio was sleeping soundly.

"Not making a sound, indeed." Rio commented, and shaking her head, told one of the nurses to get his repairer.

***

Phil was just finished with repairing. After some time of thinking, she decided that she wasted enough time on her ramblings, and got back to work.

The hangar door opened, and a man in G.O.A. uniform informed her about dr. Rill's note.

She nodded quietly, and stepped out of the repairing vehicle, dusting herself off a bit.

She straightened her jacket, and walked out, glancing at, now, finally decent looking Goddess. She smiled slightly, satisfied with her work.

A couple of minutes later, she was at the Infirmary, talking to dr. Rill about Rio's state. She was nodding every once in a while, listening about his injury, and she had to raise an eyebrow, hearing about his whining over a needle.

Dr. Rill showed her the way to his room, and then left, leaving the nurses in charge.

Phil sighed, standing in front of the door, and staring at the handle. Shakily, she raised her hand to push the handle, and the door creaked open, leaving her a little space to peek inside.

The sight in front of her made her smile involuntary, and she stepped in, not even paying attention to her actions.

She closed the door behind her silently, not wanting to wake him up. She liked the things like they were at the moment.

Tiptoeing to the bed, she grabbed a chair, and silently put it by the bed. Carefully, she sat down, and leaned forward, crossing her fingers.

Rio was asleep, and she couldn't help but smile at the way he looked at the moment. His hair was rustled on the pillow, his mouth opened, and his expression totally oblivious to everything around him. He was sprawled on the bed, with one hand beside his head, and the other hanging slightly over the edge. The sheets were tangled below his waist, and Phil reached for them, pulling them to his chest. At that moment, he stirred in his sleep, and Phil froze, standing slightly bent over him. She gritted her teeth, and cursed mentally.

His head turned to her, and he closed his mouth, obviously chewing something in his dream.

Phil smiled, and got back to her seat, happy that he didn't wake up, and caught her like that. She didn't want him to think she cared for him that much, no-that would be a mistake, because surely, he didn't feel the same way about her, and that would only make things difficult and...

Phil stopped her mental ramblings, and concentrated on his wound, now carefully bandaged. Her face turned into a concerned expression, and she shook her head. She promised herself to make Agui stronger, and what happened? He got hurt again.

'Yeah, but that wouldn't happen if he had listened to you.' The other part of her protested, and Phil frowned.

"That's also true." She said out loud, and then quickly covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes widening a bit.

When nothing happened, and when she saw that it had no effect on him, she relaxed, and leaned back into the chair.

She had this thoughtful look for a while, before she decided to say something.

"You know", she started, with her voice down, "even though you're such an idiot sometimes, I'd be very sad if you would leave me."

Rio's expression stayed the same, so she continued.

"I know we don't get along sometimes", then she halted a bit, thinking about it," okay, we don't get along most of the time, but still..." She smiled, looking at his peaceful expression, and then blushing slightly, lowered her head.

"I don't want you to leave me." She raised her head, and daring to look at him, smiled again. She raised her head further, and her eyes met the ceiling of the room, painted with a white color, and looking dull and boring. But at the moment, she saw something else in it, and dared to speak again.

"Every time you go into the battle, I'm afraid...I'm afraid you won't come back, that I'll loose you, and loose everything that I ever had in my life." She stopped again, closing her eyes and letting one single tear fall down her cheek.

"You don't even know how much you mean to me, and how much I want you to be happy, how much I want you to be..." She swallowed hard, words stuck in her throat, and she lowered her head, facing him again. She fought with her feelings for a couple of moments, not knowing what to say next. 

Then, taking a deep breath, and looking straight in his face, she opened her mouth to say what was on her mind.

"I love you, you idiot." 

It was a half whisper, she didn't have enough courage to say it out loud, like the words before, but she has said it, she finally said those words, and offered him her feelings like an open book.

It took her a while to comprehend the whole situation, before she composed herself, and wiped the rest of the tears from her face.

She took a deep breath and got up from the chair. She said what she wanted to say, and now she was standing in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do next. 

After a moment of hesitation, she decided to leave, but before that, she turned to look at his sleeping face, and smiled, proud of herself.

"Get well soon." She said one last time, before exiting the room.

Rio stirred in his position, opening his eyes, and looking for his partner. He thought he heard her talking to him, but she wasn't there. He only spotted a chair, standing by his bed.

He sighed, straightening his bangs, and staring at the ceiling.

"Weird," he said, "I could've sworn that she was here a moment ago, and…" 

He suddenly stopped, and his mind went blank for a moment.

"Wait...she said she...She loves me?" His eyes widened, and he struggled to get up. He was now in a sitting position, staring at the chair.

Just then, dr. Rill came in, and he looked at her like he saw her for the first time in his life. Dr. Rill cocked an eyebrow.

"What's the matter?" 

Rio didn't want to believe what he thought he heard, but there was still hope that…

He turned his head to the table where Rill was standing, and cleared his throat.

"Um, doc?"

"Yeah?" she turned around, looking at him expectedly.

"Was um...was Phil here...m-maybe?" he stuttered the last word.

Rill cocked her eyebrows, and turned completely to look at him.

"You didn't hear her coming in?" she asked him in wonder.

"Well how could I? I was knocked down by you!" he yelled back, and Rill frowned, feeling a bit offended.

"Well, if I didn't, you'd still be screaming at me to make the pain go away!" She retorted, putting her hands on her waist.

Rio was quiet, realizing that she had a point.

"Okay, I just wanna know if Phil was here." He replied calmly, waiting for an answer.

Rill was observing him for a while, before grabbing the box of medicaments she came there for, and stopping at the door, turned around to answer him.

"Yes, she was here." She said, and opening the door, stormed outside.

Rio's face was blank for a while, before hew answer sunk in, and he allowed himself to smirk goofily.

Slowly, he lied down on the bed, and putting his healthy arm behind his head, he smiled contently.

"Now, all I have to do is make her confess." He grinned, and then stretched his arm forward, yelling 'all right!' before he grimaced painfully, and an 'oww' followed.

***

Phil was sitting at the cafeteria, talking to Leena about usual things on GIS, when she spotted Rio heading their way. He had that goofy grin on his face, and Phil couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable.

Leena noticed her change in behavior and turned around to see who was causing it. She waved to Rio, and he smiled back, carrying a well food stuffed tray in front of him. He sat down next to Leena, and she had to ask herself why was he so cheerful today. Not that he wasn't usually, but this was simply...too much cheerfulness, even for Rio.

Phil lowered her head, trying hard not to blush.

And failing.

Leena caught all this, and decided to better leave them alone. She excused herself from the table, and ignoring the pleading look on Phil's face, waved happily, and went to sit next to Gareas.

Rio was eating casually, while Phil was staring at her tray like it was the most interesting thing in the whole universe.

The amount of food on his tray was gone quickly, but silence remained. Rio didn't know what to say, so he was simply staring at the table surface.

Phil couldn't take it anymore, so she decided to say something.

"So..." they both said in unison, and Phil blushed again, lowering her head.

"How are you feeling?" She muttered, not looking at him.

"Fine, okay, I guess." He replied, looking around the cafeteria.

Silence again.

"So, um...I heard you visited me yesterday."

That was the worst thing that could happen in Phil's opinion. She didn't know how to react to this, so she simply nodded. 

"Uh huh."

"And, uh..." Rio's face was slightly red now also, and he tried not to stammer his next words.

And failing, too.

"I um...heardyousayingthatyouloveme!"

Phil almost chocked on her drink, and now she was coughing, trying to catch some oxygen for her poor lungs.

After he patted her on the back a little, she gained some composure, and now she was gaping at him.

"You what?!" Se shrieked, and the whole cafeteria turned to look at them.

"Here we go again." Gareas commented with a smirk.

Rio raised his hands in defense. "I just said what I heard!"

"How could you hear me? You were slee..." Phil stopped, when it dawned on her.

"Oh...you weren't sleeping?" 

Rio thought about it for a second before replying. "Well, actually I _was_ sleeping when you came in and all, but I was kinda half awake when you said you lo...ve me..."

Phil was staring at him for a whole minute, trying not to crumble and fall under the table. Actually, that didn't even sound like a bad idea at the moment.

"What, what? I can't hear anything." Gareas was straining his hearing to hear something, but Leena kicked him, earning a frown in return.

"Phil? Hey Phil?" Rio was waving his hand in front of her face, and Phil jerked her head from her thoughts. Her face was a mixture of fear, and desperation, and...mostly fear.

She moaned and covered her face in her hands. There was no point in denying it anymore.

Rio didn't know what to do, so he patted her on the head, saying 'it's okay, it's okay.

She jerked away and looked at him in astonishment.

"How can you say it's okay? I...I..." She let out a cry and lowered her head to the tables' surface.

"Whoa, hey, don't do that. I mean, what's so bad about it?" He raised his hands in exasperation.

"Well, well, now you made her cry." Gareas approached them, looking at Rio with mocking expression.

"I am not crying!" Phil protested, raising her head and glaring at Gareas.

He only shrugged, and leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. Leena was standing next to him, watching his every move and hoping he doesn't ruin it.

"All I wanna say...what the fuck are you waiting for?!

Leena's face faulted, and she smacked Gareas again.

"Hey!" he protested, but she pushed him aside, and took his place.

"What Gareas meant to say," she then turned to him giving him a glare, "was that you should finally admit your feelings for each other."

"What feelings?" Phil and Rio both said in unison.

Leena's brow twitched, and she leaned forward with.

"That you two love each other damn it!" She screeched, sending everyone in the state of shock.

"Way to go Leena!" Gareas cheered, still rubbing his sore head.

The whole cafeteria went silent, waiting for their next move.

Phil and Rio looked at each other, and Rio finally let out a sigh, slumping his shoulders in defeat.

"I guess...I guess they're right Phil, I mean, face it-we're...we're uh..."

"You two would make a great couple." Leena finished instead of him, and Rio thanked her silently.

Phil was staring in disbelief at him, before shaking her head. "I swear, this can happen only to me..." 

"Phil?" She heard a threatening tone in Leena's voice and sighed, nodding quietly.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right." She said that as quiet as possible, glancing at Rio, who was blushing.

"YAEH! LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, THEY FINALLY DID IT!" Gareas screamed his lungs out, and the whole cafeteria started clapping, making Rio and Phil blush furiously.

"Gareas!" Leena hissed, and wanted to smack him, but Rio stopped her, and winked to Phil. She nodded, and grabbed her tray.

Gareas, seeing what's coming, started backing away.

"Get him!" Rio yelled, and grabbing his tray, started running after him together with Phil.

Leena was shaking her head, but she was smiling happily.

Right in that moment, the alarm went off, and broke the cheerful atmosphere.

Everyone retrieved from the cafeteria, leaving only four people behind.

"Saved by the Victim; how ironic." Gareas commented, getting ready to leave after Leena.

Rio and Phil followed silently behind, regretting the bad timing for a Victim attack.

"Agui is ready, Rio." He could hear her voice trough the communicators, and he nodded, holding his position in the cockpit.

"And Rio?"

"Yeah?"

"This time, please, listen to me, okay?" Phil said with a shaky voice, and he smiled.

"I will, I promise." He replied.

"Would you two lovebirds finish already? We have a situation here!" Gareas was heard bellowing, and Rio smiled, while Phil blushed slightly.

Kazuhi and Tune looked at each other, exchanging knowing glances.

"Shut up Garu!" It was Leena's turn to bark, and he only waved his hand, smirking.

"Is everyone ready?" Teela was heard at last, and four pilots confirmed that they were ready.

"Let's go." The command was given, and five Goddesses were ready for the battle.

"Rio, come back, okay?" was heard before the final takeoff.

"Always." Came the silent reply, and a promise to keep.

AN: Okay, I hope you liked this story; I decided to write a Rio/Phil fic, so there.

I hope no one was to OOC, and that you enjoyed reading it.

Bye!


End file.
